Michael Jordan Denies Endorsing Donald Trump In 2024 Presidential Election Following Viral Post
Michael Jordan has publicly denied claims that he has endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election.
On Sunday (Nov. 3), a social media user posted that the NBA icon had “become the latest to endorse Donald Trump for President,” which quickly went viral, as thousands of X users either shared or commented on the post.
Reactions to the post varied, with some expressing their approval of Jordan’s alleged endorsement, while others voiced their distaste over his seeming support of Trump, who served in office from 2016 until 2020.
However, representatives for Jordan released a statement refuting reports of the six-time NBA champion siding with Trump, or any other candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election.
“There is absolutely no truth to the claim that Michael Jordan has made an endorsement in the presidential election,” Jordan’s team told The Independent.
The former Chicago Bull publicly endorsing a politician would be a stark contrast from his days as a player. In 1990, he famously quipped that “Republicans buy sneakers, too” in regards to him not backing Democrat Harvey Gantt in a North Carolina Senate race.
Gantt, who was African-American, would ultimately lose to Republican incumbent Jesse Helms in the race. Jordan would receive backlash for seemingly choosing economics over sociopolitical matters. However, he has argued that he never considered being a leader within the Black community his responsibility.
“I never thought of myself as an activist,” he said in The Last Dance documentary chronicling the Chicago Bulls’ championship 1997-1998 season. “I thought of myself as a basketball player.”
Yet, Jordan revealed that, despite rebuffing his own mother’s request to do a PSA for Gantt, he donated funds to Gantt’s campaign in a show of support.
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